Chapter 6:
As soon as he sat down, his phone lit up and buzzed like crazy
The group chat with his old friends was blowing up. It was the group chat with his old buddies and someone had just tagged him: [@Nick Dude, did you and Ana get into a fight? I just saw her at the airport, boarding a flight back to her hometown. She had a ton of luggage with her
The message was accompanied by a blurry photo of Aria at the airport gate
Nick frowned, eyes narrowing as he read. She hadn’t wasted any time. She’d gone straight from the Ambrose mansion to the airport. Back to her roots.
Another message pinged in: [Yo, what happened? That’s not like her at all. You two have been mamed for years. Ania never even traveled for without telling you. Even when you were too busy to came home, she always brought lunch to your office. She took care of you like. religiously. Something feels off.]
[Yeah, seriously. She used to stick to you like glue, remember? Even when you ignored her, she still showed up. Like a loyal puppy. You couldn’t shake her off.
Nick stared at the screen, tension pulling at his features. His fingers flew across the keyboard.”
[She wants a divorce.]}]
The group went dead silent. Then, chaos.
[Dude. You’re joking, right? Aria? Divorce YOU? She worships the ground you You think she’d just walk away from him too?]
you walk on. What a
about Jayden? She raised him like her own.
[April Fool’s was last month, it’s no time for jokes, bro. Everyone here knows how devoted Aria is to you and Jayden. She’s basically your house manager, chef and emotional support system all rolled into one. I just saw her the other day buying Jayden that rare Transformers model he’s been dying for. And didn’t she also get you a custom suit? Ask the boutique. I swear.]
A suit?
Nick hadn’t known about that. But now that he thought about it, he had mentioned to Aria earlier that y coming up and needed to dress up a bit more. He hadn’t thought much of it
But she’d remembered and acted on it?%
He felt a sudden tightness in his chest–not pain, not sadness. More like… realization.
He quickly shot back another message!
[Which boutique was it?)||
week he had a formal auction event
|The usual–your go–to luxury shop. But dude, seriously, are you not joking? Aria really said she wants a divorce? She’s the gold standard of wife material. No way she just peaced out ]
At first, Nick had believed her
The way she looked at him before she left–serious, hurt–it didn’t feel like a bluff.
But now, heanng all this, he wasn’t so sure. Someone who secretly buys you a tailored doesn’t just stop loving you overnight.
lored suit and
grabs a limited–edition toy for your son
This had to be about what Jayden did at her birthday dinner. That meltdown. That disrespect. And maybe. maybe she was just trying to scare them. Make them think she was really gone so they’d feel the consequences
That was it. She wasn’t really leaving–she was making a point.
Determined to confirm his theory, Nick went straight to the boutique. The staff there remembered Aria immediately!!
He stood abruptly and headed straight for that luxury tailor downtown. One conversation with the clerk confirmed it–Aria had come in two days ago, ordered a custom suit with his preferred fit and color and made sure they’d deliver it to his house!
His stomach twisted.”
So she really did do it. She was still doing thoughtful things for him, even while planning to leave.!!
Except no. That wasn’t how Nick chose to see it!
To him, this only proved one thing. Ana wasn’t serious. She was just trying to scare him and Jayden. She wanted to make a statement, push their buttons. That was all.
With that belief firm in his mind, the tightness in his chest eased. He opened his phone again, staring at Aria’s chat window. A cold smile tugged at the corner of his mouth
Of course she wouldn’t leave him. She loved him and Jayden too much.
She’d come crawling back, like always
And when she did, he’d make sure she regretted pulling a stunt like this–using divorce as a weapon. She was going to learn her lesson the hard way
Later that evening, he returned home, went into her room and rummaged through her closet. Sure enough, tucked inside a bag was the limited–edition Transformer figure Jayden had been dying to own. She’d managed to snag it for him:
He handed it to his son and said. “Your mom bought this”
